


Role Reversal

by MetaBeeBoppin



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Angst, Bruises, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-13
Updated: 2013-10-13
Packaged: 2017-12-29 07:21:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1002574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MetaBeeBoppin/pseuds/MetaBeeBoppin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She was unable to protect him, and she will never forgive herself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Role Reversal

Beads of cold sweat rolled gradually down Peko’s face, reaching the brink of her chin and dripping to the floor. The mist that had formed on her glasses hazed her vision, but she tightened her grip on her kendo sword and took another swipe at the training dummy resting before her. The timepiece on the wall of the Kuzuryuu family’s training room no longer held any real meaning, as Peko had lost track of how long she had been training for. In the time she had been training, her expressionless glare had not twitched nor faltered, and she had not taken the time to observe any other detail of the room. She was driven only to eliminate the sense of guilt and inadequacy that had pervaded her heart. She made another furious slash at the dummy, the force of her attack cracking the wood of the dummy’s neck and causing it to teeter slightly.

The sliding door to the training room opened. Peko chanced a glance over, and to her dismay, the young master entered, with the bandages around his shoulder in plain sight under his white vest top. Some nasty taste formed in the back of Peko’s throat and she looked away, reaffirming her fighting stance and preparing to make a third attack.

“No matter how many times you hit that fucking thing, it isn’t gonna hit you back,” Kuzuryuu muttered, his hands in his pockets. Though she didn’t chance another glance over at him – just the sight of his wound made the shame flare up again – Peko felt a heat in her cheeks and her fingers clenched hold of the sword’s hilt until it bordered on painful.

“I must train until I can trust myself to protect you again, young master…” Peko responded, her deadpan voice betraying her emotions. Hearing Kuzuryuu make a noise of impatience, there was at least solace in the fact that the young master’s personality hadn’t changed too much… though that said nothing of his attitude towards her.

“Damn it, Peko, you’ve been down here for almost a whole day! I survived! Pull yourself together!” he roared, his voice becoming a little squeaky towards the end. The swordswoman turned her head away from him somewhat to conceal the tears that had formed in her eyes. Sure, they had both escaped the gang fight, sure enough – but Peko had still seen the knife slice into her master’s shoulder. She had still had to rush him home, his blood staining her clothes. She still had to restrain her reaction as the doctors took him away.

“I should have been there, young master…” she said simply. It was best to keep sentences short, lest her voice suddenly crack.

“How the fuck were you supposed to know some drunk bastard was gonna try and mug me!?” Kuzuryuu interjected, throwing his arms into the air in annoyance. A tear slid down Peko’s cheek, the taste of it mingling with her sweat as it slithered between her still straightened lips. She didn’t have an answer for him, but that changed nothing.

“My absence of action yesterday provided I am not fit to be your protector, y-young master,” she told him, her voice quaking with the last three syllables.

There was a moment of silence.

“… fine, then stay in here ‘til you’re ready,” he grumbled, turning around and slamming the door shut behind him, leaving Peko on her own once again. Noiselessly, she listened to his strides echo down the hallway until he was out of earshot.

Frustration took hold. She moved without thinking, all rationality clouded by her own overblown feeling of self-loathing. A barely repressed squeal of rage escaped her lips as she rushed forward, slashing at the training dummy with all the force she could muster. Wood collided on wood. The dummy lurched, and then fell, the head hanging on by only a splinter. And Peko followed.

She collapsed to the ground, a gasp of pain accompanying a crunch. And then she was stunned, laying on the floor and staring up at the ceiling without actually seeing, her eyes watering from sorrow and raw, white-hot pain. Gingerly pushing herself up into a sitting position, Peko rolled back the sleeve of the arm she had landed on, wincing as she saw the dark bruise that blemished her skin. She persisted with her straight face as she cradled her arm, her teeth gritted tight.

“You… pathetic… girl…” she choked out, seething. There was a thundering from the hall, and the door crashed open again as the young master returned. And yet again, Peko refused herself the privilege of looking at him, knowing he would be furious at her stupidity.

“Hey, I heard---oh shit, Peko!!”

Her master hurried over to her side, collapsing to his knees with a look of horror etched onto his face, leaving her bewildered as he seemed to be more concerned with her wound than her foolish error. She attempted to force herself onto her feet, but Kuzuryuu pushed her back down by the shoulders and steadied her.

“Young master… I am sorry, I overexerted myself… it was my fault, again…” she confessed, her glasses shifting slightly down her nose as she avoided his eyes. A hand brushed the top of her head, trailing through her hair to feel one of her braids, and then Kuzuryuu’s gentle touch reached her chin as she pushed her head up – she knew better to struggle, and had no choice but to look him in the eye. There was an unusual lack of wrath, or disappointment, but rather sadness and concern. Peko was unable to understand why – how could he show such concern for a simple tool? A simple tool who could not carry out their sole purpose correctly?

“Damn it, I shouldn’t have told you to keep training… wait here, I’ll find some bandages…”

After he had bolted out of the room, Peko conformed to his wishes and lay where she was, staring at the tiles on the ceiling. Bandages were something that were used on a person when they were damaged --- but, as she remained in complete silence, Peko mused that a damaged tool was no longer of use to anyone. Surely, it would be more pertinent to have her replaced with a more skilled bodyguard? Someone who could properly protect the young master? The feeling of sadness welled up inside her as she contemplated what she would do in her final days, or even hours, in her masters company.

She knew she would have to savour it.

She closed her eyes.

===***===

“Peko! Hey, Peko!! Wake up, damn it, I didn’t slave down in the kitchen so you sleep through your god damn breakfast!!”

With a murmur of malcontent, Peko awoke, peering over the covers of the bed at her young master’s blurry form. Something dropped onto her chest, and discovered it was her glasses, which she then proceeded to put on. The room came into clear focus, though she remained unsure as to what room in the house she was in. She turned to Kuzuryuu, who, surprisingly enough, was standing there with a tray carrying several slices of charred toast and a cup ramen, sans chopsticks. She also noticed her was wearing an apron – her apron – and her cheeks burned as she noted how cute he looked. Then she mentally chastised herself for having such a thought about the young master.

“Good morning, master,” she said quietly, being unsure of what else she could possibly say. Kuzuryuu smirked at her and set the tray down at the edge of the bed.

“Actually, it’s three in the afternoon,” he remarked, before standing to attention, hands behind his back. Peko hesitated for a moment, wondering what he was doing. Was he… taking care of her? The thought was preposterous, but he had set down the tray of food for her… at least, he thought it was for her…

“Is that for me, young master?” she inquired, pointing at the food.

“I gave it to you, didn’t I?” he answered, raising an eyebrow at her. Peko gave a nod of understanding, though in truth, she didn’t understand what she had done to receive such treatment from the young master. Though she found the situation absurd, she reached out and grabbed a slice of toast and took a tentative bite out of its blackened crust. She chewed, swallowed, and then failed to suppress a cough from the vile, smoky taste.

“Shit, I knew I screwed up… it really doesn’t taste good burnt, does it?” Kuzuryuu muttered. He sighed, seeming frustrated, and shoved his hands in his pockets.

“No!! Y-young master, it is fine, if you made it…” Peko stammered defensively, tearing another bite and choking it down, her eyes watering a little. The third swallow of toast was too much and she launched into a coughing fit, immediately trying to calm herself for worry of offending Kuzuryuu, but she was astonished to find that he was laughing.

“Guess I’m not so good in the kitchen, huh?” He removed the tray from the bed and placed it on the floor, a grin still plastered on his face. Knowing he was happy, Peko managed her first smile in the past few days.

“Where are we, young master?” she asked him. Kuzuryuu’s amused look faltered, and he squirmed a little bit on the spot as colour bloomed on his cheeks. Peko observed the room more closely, and this time she noticed how comfortable the bed was, and the snack wrappers littered around the room, and the pinstripe suits hanging in the wardrobe…

The second she realised whose bed she was in, she made to throw off the covers, but the young master had already forced her back against the pillow.

“Y-young master, I should not be in your… your… b-bed…” she insisted, shaking her head vigorously and swallowing before she uttered the final word. She felt the heat in her cheeks rise up to unprecedented levels – a useless tool, like her, being given such treatment…

“Peko, will you chill out for once? You’ve hurt your arm, and my bed’s comfier, so…” he shrugged at her, and suddenly seemed preoccupied with looking at something in the opposite corner of the room. Peko shook her head again, clenching hold of the covers and bunching them up to her face, the young master’s scent infused into the fabric.

“I don’t… deserve this… I’m a terrible guardian…” she mumbled into the duvet, burying her face in shame. There was silence, and then Peko was bashed on top of the head with a dinner tray. She uncovered her face, and could almost see the veins in Kuzuryuu’s head about to pop from pure rage.

“Don’t you fuck with me, Peko!! The fuck are you beating yourself up over one mistake for!? Yeah, someone stabbed me, but I’m alive ain’t I? You gonna beat yourself up over this forever!?” he ranted, flinging the dinner tray across the room where it clattered to the floor. Peko’s chin spasmed and she scrunched up the covers more, and her emotions spilled out all at once.

“I couldn’t protect you, master! My one role in life – to be your protector – I failed!! I am but a simple tool who cannot carry out their one role – so why must you treat me like some kind of princess!?” With a sob, she threw the covers back over her head, ashamed at her emotions. She knelt trembling in silence. Surely, this must be the tipping point where she was replaced for her unprofessionalism?

Gradually, the covers were peeled back from her head. Kuzuryuu took a seat down on the bed next to her and threw his arms around waist, and nestled his head in her shoulder. Peko didn’t know how to respond, but allowed it. No matter how bewildered it made her, the young master’s warmth made her feel better. She did nothing but listen to his words.

“Sure, you screwed up. But Peko, I wouldn’t want anyone else taking care of me. You… make me feel safe, you know? You didn’t protect me that night, but when you carried me home… I felt safe, so, I guess that was the most important part. And… fuck… I feel like I owe you for doing that, ‘cause no other bodyguard could, right? So…”

Peko remained frozen through the awkward pause that followed.

“… uh… just let me take care of you this one time, alright?”

With those words, her body seemed to limber up. She didn’t understand her master’s thoughts and feelings any more or any less, but his words comforted her more than any four poster bed could. She relaxed into his embrace, and she hesitated prior to taking him into her arms and cuddling him tight. Tilting her head so her reddened cheek rested on his head, she gave a slow nod.

“As you wish, young master."

**Author's Note:**

> this sucks i'm sorry i'm so sorry i just really wanted to write the kuzupekos


End file.
